We get a lot of reader queries about television specs. After all, there's a lot to decide when you're shopping for a new HDTV—What screen size should you get? Plasma, LCD, or LED? Active or Passive 3D? And there are even more questions when you get your new set home—What kind of cables do I need? How about speakers? Can I calibrate my own screen?

Our HDTV Buying Guide can help walk you through choosing the right set, but answers to your most common questions can be found below. Anything else you want answered? Hit us up with your HDTV queries in the comments section below.

LCD, LED, or Plasma? Which Type of HDTV is the Best? What's the Difference? Short answer: LED is the best choice unless you want to spend more than $2,500 on a high-end plasma, which will give you the best picture. High-end LED-backlit LCD HDTVs are no slouch, but Samsung's PNF8500 and Panasonic's VT60 and ZT60 plasmas offer the deepest blacks and most accurate colors we've seen this year. They're also really expensive, really heavy, and require a lot of energy. You can find some affordable plasma screens that offer good performance, but they're becoming fewer and farther between, and in the budget and midrange levels, they won't likely look appreciably better than an equivalent LED model.

Until recently, LCD and LED were seen as two different display types, because while both use LCD panels "LCD" HDTVs use CCFL backlighting and LED HDTVs use LEDs to backlight the display. LEDs were seen as the premium LCD technology, because the screens that use them are consistently thinner, lighter, and more energy efficient. Now LED-backlit LCDs have almost completely replaced CCFL models, and even budget screens that use LED backlighting can be found.

If you have a large budget, and don't care about higher electric bills, a high-end plasma screen will provide the best picture, but for most people, an LED HDTV is the best choice. For more, see our guide to HDTV technologies.

What Screen Size Should I Get?A big HDTV that's too close can be just as uncomfortable to watch as a small HDTV that's too far away, so don't always assume that the biggest screen available is the best choice. There are a few different rules of thumb regarding HDTV screen size based on your distance from it. Generally, the distance of your couch to your HDTV should be between 1.2 and 1.6 times the diagonal measurement of your screen. If your couch is six feet away from your screen, you can comfortably watch an HDTV between 42 and 60 inches. If your couch is five feet away, a 37- to 52-inch screen should work well.

Should I Get a Set With Active or Passive 3D? Which is Better?At this point, it doesn't really matter anymore. Active 3D HDTVs, which use battery-powered shutter glasses to separate the image, used to require expensive glasses and seldom came with the sets. Passive 3D HDTVs, which use polarized filtered glasses to separate the image, suffered from significant crosstalk issues (where one eye sees a "ghost" of the picture the other eye should be seeing). That isn't the case anymore.

Passive 3D now looks very good, though crosstalk can be a minor issue. Active 3D is now very affordable, with most active 3D screens including a few pairs of glasses with new pairs available for around $20 instead of $50. Passive 3D offers a slightly more convenient experience at the possible expense of 3D detail, but the trade-off is so minor now the difference between the two is academic. Active 3D glasses need to be charged (or have batteries replaced), which makes them a minor nuisance compared with passive 3D glasses. Also, keep in mind that some users have reported that 3D HDTVs produce a feeling of nausea, so you should be careful either way.

Can I Calibrate My HDTV Myself? Yes. And it's not difficult to do. Our HDTV calibration guide can walk you through the process. Any Blu-ray disc or DVD with THX Optimizer, like Terminator 2: Skynet Edition, has a built-in calibration wizard from THX, and you can order dedicated HDTV calibration discs online. Some HDTVs, like LG's connected HDTVs, have a built-in calibration wizard you can access in the menu, and even the Xbox One has a calibration guide. If you have a high-end HDTV and want the absolutely best picture possible, you can spend a few hundred dollars to have your screen professionally calibrated, but for most viewers, it's an unnecessary expense.

Do I Need Expensive HDMI Cables? In a single word: NO! Unless you have a huge home theater system and plan to run cables between devices at distances longer than 25 feet (and that's being generous), you don't need an expensive HDMI cable. We've compared the performance of high-end cables and inexpensive ones, and found that they all carry digital signals similarly. More expensive cables might have a better build quality, but you won't see any performance advantages from them. Don't shop for HDMI cables at retail stores, and ignore and clerks who warn you of "dirty electricity" or "viruses" that can come with cheap cables (both claims I've witnessed). Hop online and find the least expensive cable at the size you need and snap it up.

Should I Get a Multi-Speaker Sound System? How About a Sound Bar? HDTVs have built-in speakers that function well enough in the sense that you can understand dialog, but beyond that they're typically pretty underwhelming. With few exceptions, you can improve your movie and gaming experience greatly by getting an add-on speaker system, like a sound bar or dedicated multi-channel home theater system.

If space is at a premium or your budget is limited, a sound bar is your best bet. They're long, thin, self-contained speakers that sit under or over your HDTV. Small and simple to set up, they're less expensive than multi-speaker systems. Sound bars offer the poorest surround sound imaging though. The single speaker unit doesn't separate the channels enough to give the impression that things are happening around you, and without rear satellites you won't get any genuine surround imaging. However, some sound bars offer true surround by including a subwoofer and rear speakers, like the Vizio S4251W-B4, which can offer the full 5.1-channel experience in a sound bar-plus-satellites package. It can't offer as good stereo imaging because the channels on the sound bar are closer than they would be on a dedicated surround or stereo system, but it's a solid substitute. Here are some of our favorite sound bars.

If you have some cash and don't mind running cables, a home theater system either as a single package (a home theater in a box or HTIB) or as discrete components (receiver and satellites) will offer louder, clearer, and better surround sound. Home theaters in a box are less expensive than a home theater system you put together yourself, but they also aren't as powerful and don't sound as good as a more expensive system. Both types of home theater systems require you to run cables from the receiver to multiple speakers, which can be inconvenient in small spaces.

About the Author

Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for a decade, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. His work and analysis has been seen in GamePro, Tested.com, Geek.com, and several other publications. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PC Labs as the in-house home entertainment expert... See Full Bio

Get Our Best Stories!

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.